


A Star Has Formed

by max15380



Category: No Straight Roads (Video Game)
Genre: DJ SS backstory, DJ's previous name was Pluto, Maybe I'll add more chapters?, fanon sibling, his whole family is named after planets, just a little random idea I had with one of DJ's tapes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/max15380/pseuds/max15380
Summary: Pluto smiled as he realized what he was going to do now. This time he knew he wouldn’t be ignored. This time, they would listen to what he had to say.A DJ, that's what he'd be.
Comments: 29
Kudos: 105





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey, Pluto!” Uranus walks into his younger brother’s room, smiling with tablet in hand.

“Oh, hey Ura.” Pluto waves as a greeting to his brother, more focused on the turntables in front of him at the moment, listening over to what he’d made. It was nice to hear his brother speak though. Uranus was the less vocal of the family, he more often typed out what he wanted to say on his tablet, but he would speak occasionally as well.

Uranus walks up to Pluto, typing up what he wanted to say as Pluto turned to him.

‘I came to check up on you. What’re you doing lil’ bro?’ His message read.

“Ah, not much.” Pluto says, glancing back to his turntable for a moment. “Just...experimenting with my old interest in music.”

‘Really? Nice! What’ve you got so far?’

“It’s not much, really, only a short song.” Pluto says, picking up his headphones and offering them to Uranus. “Did you...perhaps want to give it a listen?” He asks. Uranus smiles and nods, placing his tablet down to take the headphones from Pluto.

Pluto could see Uranus’s expression light up as he listened to the sort composition, watching as he started to rock his body back and forth slightly as he started to fall into the rhythm of the tune. When the song finished, Uranus slipped the headphones off and handed it back to his little brother,

“Wow, Pluto, that sounded great!” Uranus says.

“Oh, you don’t need to flatter me, bro.” Pluto says, looking down with a sigh. “It’s really not that good, you can be honest.”

“Pluto, you’ve got to be kidding me!”

Pluto looks up to see Uranus looking at him with a large, beaming smile.

_“As I tinker with my old turntable, I was suddenly struck with a moment of clarity,”_

“Pluto, that was absolutely amazing! Come on, you’ve got to share this with more people! I bet they’ll love it!”

_“People respond more to music!”_

That made Pluto think. For the past few years people had never truly listened to what he had to say. But maybe...this was a sign. Maybe people would listen to him...he just needed to share it in a different way.

_“Perhaps...perhaps I should combine these two passions of mine…”_

Pluto smiled as he realized what he was going to do now. This time he knew he wouldn’t be ignored. This time, they would listen to what he had to say.

_“Of space,”_

_“And melody”_

A DJ, that’s what he’d be.


	2. A Star's First Glimmer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep I decided to do more, enjoy! You get to meet his mother briefly in this chapter! Her name is Luna, she's the moon, basically. (Yes, that means his dad is the sun. His name is Solus, before you ask.)

“Oh, Pluto, are you really sure you want to go all the way to Vinyl? It is a bit far away from here...”   
  
“Yes, I’m sure. I promise, I’ll come back and visit you all as often as possible.” Pluto zips up his hoodie as he looks over at his mother, Luna. “There is no need to worry, mother. Vinyl City is a nice place, I’ll be fine.” He chuckles a bit, giving his mother a gentle hug, her returning the gesture with one of her usual warm, tight hugs. Though it always felt like she’d nearly crush his back to Pluto, he still loved her hugs. As the two pull away from the embrace, Pluto turns to the door. Just before he stepped out, he looked back at his mother.

“I’ll tell you how it went after ok? I love you mom.”

“I love you too, starshine.”   
  


That made him feel warm inside, his orb glowing brighter at his mother’s words. Starshine. He loved the name, it always made him feel so loved, no matter how bad the day had been. He gave a small nod before walking out the door.

His next destination: Vinyl City.

It took an hour by bus to go from his small hometown, New Metro, to the much larger, bright town of Vinyl. He felt like someone who was stepping foot on a new planet for the first time, compared to his home, the place felt alien and unknown. But oddly, at the same time, he felt strangely welcome here. But, he had no time to just stand there and admire the city, he had an audition to catch!

He nearly slammed open the door as he rushed inside, taking a moment to catch his breath before walking up to the person who looked to be writing down who had come for the audition.

“Um, h-hi. I’m...I’m here for the Light’s Up Audition!” He says nervously to them, his heart racing with nervousness.

“I see.” The person said, looking up at him. “And you are?”

“I’m Pl...” He cut himself off. No. He couldn’t call himself that anymore, he felt like this was his chance. A chance to abandon his horrible past of being ignored, and to finally, finally reach the stars in a massive, beautiful explosion of music.

  
Once small and seen as nearly nothing, but now his chance to have his music explode in popularity. He nods a bit to himself.

“N-Nova...my name is Nova.”

_ “...DJ Subatomic Supernova.”  _


	3. A Chance To Shine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo and this one is longer than the others! You get to meet Neon J and beta 1010, along with what I think DJ's video introducing himself at the auditions would've been like!

“All right now, the camera is rolling. Start whenever you’re ready, sir.”

“Good day, artists of NSR, I am DJ Subatomic Supernova. I come from the small town of New Metro for the opportunity to share my wondrous music with you. For the past few years I have created many pieces of Electronic Dance Music for all to hear, and I feel that I would be a valuable addition to NSR. Not only would my music greatly help in powering the city, I know this city would be a perfect place to gain so many more adoring fans. NSR would truly help my music reach the furthest corners of the galaxy, even further beyond that even! To the edge of the universe itself! Yes, NSR will truly help me reach the stars I have-”   
  
“Nova, sir. Keep it brief, please.”

“Of course, my apologies. In short, I wish to assist NSR in powering this beautiful city, and to gather many more adoring fans. I do hope you will consider me to be your newest member.”

As the recording ended and the camera finally turned off, Nova let out a small sigh. He was good at hiding it, but he was incredibly nervous about the audition.

“All right, just head down the hall and wait with the other artists. They’ll call you when it’s your turn.”

Nova nods, making his way over to catch the sight of the small group of artists of many different shapes, sizes, and colors. He debated walking up to try and talk with some of the artists, but instead he decided to stand by the wall, watching the other artists from a slight distance. From where he stood, he could faintly hear pop music blaring from the other room, along with loud cheering and faint, muffled singing voices.

A few minutes later, the door slammed open, Nova catching sight of who he assumed was the artist behind the music.

Into the hall walked a sleek white cyborg, their green screen glowing as their sonar lit up with dots of presumably all of the artists around them. They wore a white jacket and cape, the neck being some kind of soft, fluffy fur that was poofed up, and under his jacket you could see that he had on a red turtleneck. The cyborg was followed by 5 gray bots, who all looked identical to each other, their attire being all black and all sporting the same styled short, black hair with white eyes.

“Troops, muster!” The cyborg spoke in a strong, commanding voice, causing the 5 bots to all line up next to each other and salute.

“Yes, Commander J!” The 5 bots say in unison

“Tremendous job, recruits!” The cyborg says, turning to the five bots. “You have all truly impressed me today with your performance, we most definitely deserved a position in NSR, and we secured that position without even breaking a sweat!”

“All thanks to your routines Commander J, sir!” The middle bot says.

“Thank you for your kind words, 10-1.  _ Troops, dismissed! _ ” The cyborg says, and the 5 bots start to walk down the hall.

“Hm, how interesting…” Nova mutters, watching the 5 robots pass by him. “Quite the technological marvel they are, they must’ve been made by quite the knowledgeable individual.”

“Why, that would be me, my fine sir!” The cyborg says, coming to a stop in front of Nova. “They did take me quite a while to create, but they are truly a marvelous achievement of mine!”

Nova was quiet for a moment, not sure what to say. He was honestly never one to interact with a lot of people, more out of fear of being ignored by them, but he felt like things would be different here.

“Yes, I have never seen such advanced AI before. You truly are quite the intelligent individual.” Nova says, looking over at the robots.

“Why, thank you! I don’t believe I’ve introduced myself. My name is Neon J, and these 5 are 1010.” Neon says, motioning to the robots, who apparently as a group were called ‘1010’. “And we are the newest members of NSR!”

“Ah, I see! Well, it is nice to meet you, Neon. My name is Nova, Subatomic Supernova.” Nova says. “And congratulations on your new position! I hope all goes well for you!” He chuckles a little.

“Up next is DJ Subatomic Supernova!” A voice comes through the hall’s speakers.

“Oh! I’m sorry to cut our conversation short, but I’m up next!” Nova says. “It was nice to meet you though, Neon. I wish you and 1010 the best.”

“Same to you, Nova. Best of luck on the audition!” Neon J says, waving goodbye as Nova makes his way down the hall before leaving with 1010.

Nova’s heart raced as he approached the entrance, he could hear crowds of people out there. He took a moment to calm his nerves, taking a deep breath before walking into the room.

This was it, this was his chance to finally shine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I didn't want to keep you all waiting too long so it's cut off before the audition. It'll continue in the next chapter most likely but of course you know he makes it in this is a freaking backstory fic.  
> And yeah, back at the time of the audition, Neon J didn't yet consider 1010 as his children yet. They had only been built not too long ago at the time, so there wasn't a strong emotional attachment to the 5 yet. They're just called 10-(1-5) for now, since it's before their designs were upgraded and they were given names. 10-1 is Rin/White of course.


	4. Welcome to NSR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well do I have a surprise for you today! Not one, but TWO, maybe even 3 if I finish the next one, chapters!

The audition was truly one of the most stressful things he’d gone through. Crowds of people were watching him as he made his way through the arena, making sure while doing so to still dazzle the audience with a spectacle of planets and stars in his attacks, and in the end, he made it through like a breeze. He could hear the crowds cheering through the whole thing. They loved him. For once, he felt he was finally getting the appreciation and love he deserved after so many years.

He sighed in relief when it was all over, looking up at the 3 judges in front of him.

“There you go, my fine judges. Your arena has been completed by yours truly. I hope you were amused with my performance, I was very much making sure to keep it visually appealing.” Nova says, adjusting his hoodie.

The three judges in front of him were what appeared to be a young married couple, a man and a woman, and Tatiana, the leader of NSR herself. Smaller than he had expected it to be, but NSR was still rather new, so it was to be expected.

“Well now, Mr. Nova, it does appear that your performance managed to generate a sufficient amount of energy, and you have gotten quite an overwhelmingly positive response from the audience, all while managing to keep your performance rather appealing to see.” Tatiana says. She looks over at the man and woman with her, who both nod, silently agreeing on the same thing. Tatiana looks back at Nova.

“Well, it seems my fellow judges and I all agree. Welcome to NSR, DJ Subatomic Supernova. We expect to see you again next week at the latest to accept your position.”

Nova paused for a moment, trying to process the emotions rushing through him. He’d actually made it, he felt so overjoyed, he was starting to shake as he felt he was on the verge of tears. He nodded, trying to find the words to say how thankful he was.

“I-I’ll be there! Th-Thank you! Thank you so much, I-I can’t...I can’t even begin to say how appreciative I am for this opportunity, thank you so, so much!” He laughed a little, trying not to burst out crying with joy right then and there.

He’d made it. This was it, a whole new life was ahead of him and he was ready to take it head on.


	5. A New Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is! The second chapter I made today, 3rd one is currently in progress!

A few days had passed since his audition, and on this day, he had been packing up all his things and preparing to leave for Vinyl that evening. Since he had been accepted, concerningly, he started talking less and less to his family the days prior. Eventually, it was Uranus who decided to confront him and ask about it, just as Nova was packing up the last box of his things into his car.

“Pluto? Is something wrong? You’ve been talking to us less ever since you came back from that audition.” Uranus says.

“I’m fine.” He responded in a monotone voice. He had to admit, after the audition, hearing the name Pluto only made him despise it even more, and it seemed to pick at his temper, causing him to grip at the box in his hand more tightly. He didn’t want to hear the name anymore, he just wanted to move on. His old city held too many bitter memories, he needed to get away from it all.

“A-Are you sure? You seem...tense.”

“ _ Yes _ .” Nova responded instantly in an oddly bitter tone of voice as he had to force himself back from throwing the final box into the car. Uranus wasn’t used to his brother talking to him like that. As he walked to the front door and got into the driver’s seat, Uranus walked up to him.

“I-It really doesn’t seem like it...w-we’re all worried about you Pluto…”

“I’m fine. Now I must hurry, I am on a tight schedule at the moment.”

“B-But you’ve barely talked to us ever since you came back! A-And now you’re just going without saying goodbye to everyone?!”   
  


“I don’t have time, brother…” He gripped at the door’s handle, trying not to snap at Uranus.

“B-But Pluto-”

“ _ST-STOP CALLING ME THAT!_ ” Nova suddenly yelled, slamming the car door shut loudly, causing Uranus to jump and yelp out in surprise. “I...I don’t want to go by Pluto anymore, I can’t take hearing that name one more damn time! I don’t want to live in town anymore with all of the bad memories I have here. I…” He sighed. “I just want to move on and forget it all, brother. If that means leaving town...then so be it.” He turned on the car, sighing and looking at his brother one last time. “I’m sorry, Uranus. I do love you and all our family, but it’s best I leave without breaking their hearts.”

“B-B-Brother…” Uranus said, his voice breaking as he started to shake a little, a few tears escaping and streaming down his cheeks. “B-Brother, please…”

“Goodbye.”

And with that, Nova drove away, leaving behind it all.

His home. His memories. His past. Even his own family.

But now, would begin a new chapter of his life.


	6. Life in Vinyl Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for subtle hints of NeonNova and a slight bit of Neon backstory because yes

He took a deep breath, taking in the sight of his new home. Here he was, a new city, a new life, a new opportunity. He was going to do everything he could to make it big here, no matter what it takes or who he had to push out of his way. He’d gone this far, he refused to fall.

As he started to unpack all the boxes of his stuff, there was suddenly a knock on the door. Grabbing his hoodie, Nova slipped it on and walked over, opening the door. To his surprise, it was Neon.

“Nova! I’d heard you came to town recently!” Neon says, his screen glowing bright, which was his way of showing he was happy. “I just came to welcome you to the city!”

“Ah, you already lived in town?” Nova asks.

“Affirmative. But, I lived a much more humble life. May I come in?”

  
  
“Why yes, of course, just watch your step, I’m just beginning to unpack.”

Neon nods, stepping inside and looking around the area. “Quite a nice place, I must say. I bet it will look even more amazing once you’ve finished unpacking!”

Nova feels his heart race for a second, smiling on the inside as his orb glowed gently. “Why, thank you, Neon!” He says, chuckling a little.

“No problem, Nova!” Neon says. “But, as I was saying, I lived a much more humble life a while back. Before 1010 was made, I was just a humble toymaker. In fact, you may spot some of my creations in store windows while you’re out in town!”

“Oh? Well, I will keep an eye out for them! What brought you to create 1010, if I may ask?” Nova says, sitting down on his couch, motioning for Neon to sit next to him. “You may take a seat, if you’d like.”

“Ah, thank you.” Neon sits next to Nova. “As for 1010, I’ll admit, I’d always had an interest in robotics. After all, I had learnt a lot about robotics over the years to figure out how to keep myself in top shape! I had made many small robotic toys, but something compelled me to try and make one of a much larger scale, one of human size. It took me years, but eventually, I had created 10-1, followed by the other four!”

“Fascinating. You truly do have quite the technological knowledge, Neon. Your bots are quite advanced!” Nova says, a few of the stars in his head glimmering. Neon laughs happily in response.

“Why, thank you Nova! Just wait, soon they’ll be even more advanced! I plan on upgrading the 5 soon, to give them a better AI and individual designs to make it easier to pick out who is who. I’ll admit at times even I had mixed up who was who at times.” He says. “Hopefully it will be finished in time for their first official performance in the Metro district!”

  
  
“I see. Well, if you ever need any help, feel free to ask me for assistance. I may not be quite as skilled as you are, but I do have quite a good knowledge of technology myself, so I may be able to be of assistance.”

“That would be greatly appreciated. I will contact you if I need any help.” Neon says, standing up. “I should get going, I shouldn’t leave 1010 on their own for too long. It was nice talking with you though! Hopefully we can maybe meet up again soon!”

“Well, have a nice afternoon, Neon. Indeed, it would be very nice to meet up again sometime. I should get back to unpacking.” Nova says, waving goodbye as he also stands up, watching as Neon leaves. He smiles to himself a little, Neon and him would be great friends, he knew that.

Later, in the evening, as Nova was finishing unpacking things into his bedroom, he paused as he pulled out a framed photo from the box.

His family. It was from years ago, when he was only a mere elementary school kid. You could still faintly see the cracks on his younger self’s head. It made him shudder a bit, the memory of when a group of bullies had cornered him and decided to use his head as a baseball. He still remembered the overwhelming pain of a metal bat slamming into his head and cracking it. It had landed him in the hospital for a week, he hated people messing with his head ever since.

For a minute, he just sat there, staring at the photo. With a sigh, he places it back into the box.

“Maybe one day...but, not now. It still hurts too much to look at.” He mutters. Honestly, he slightly regretted not telling his family he was leaving, but he tried to convince himself it was for the best. He would go back and see them.

One day, just not now. He wanted a fresh start.


	7. The First Performance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long, school and writer's block '-.-  
> But here it is, enjoy!

It had been about a good month since Nova had moved into his new Cast Tech home. Nova was hard at work on his newest piece of music. Tonight was an important night for him, it was going to be his first official live performance as a member of NSR. So far, he had released songs under NSR, but he was still setting up his club, which he deemed Club Planetarium, at the time, so he hadn’t exactly gotten a chance to perform to an audience live yet.

Taking a moment to slip off his headphones and clear his head, he looks over as a few small pings come from his phone, seeing messages from two different people. Neon and…

“...Uranus.” He mutters, picking up the phone and reading over the message.

‘Hey, bro? We haven’t heard from you in a month...is everything ok? We miss you…’

Nova sighs, clearing the message from his notifications and then reading over Neon’s message.

‘Hey, Nova! I heard your first concert is tonight! Best of luck, I’ll try to be there to cheer you on when I finish helping 1010 with their rehearsal!’

Nova chuckled a bit, he and Neon had very much clicked well. He opens his phone and writes out a response.

‘Thanks, Neon, hope I’ll see you there! ^^’

He slipped on his hoodie, slipping his phone in his pocket, and got ready to head out. Better to be there early to make sure everything was ready for his performance that night.

The night looked peaceful and beautiful as he made his way to the club. Most people just paid no mind to him, though he could see a few glancing over as they caught sight of him. It was welcome, but also made him feel slightly uneasy.

He hated people staring at him. All the time it always made him feel like they were judging him, he could only remember being cornered and laughed at by his classmates, being judged for every little thing he showed interest in. Even if never out loud, the way they looked at him made it clear they were silently judging every part of his life. He took a deep breath, just looking down to avoid eye contact as he walked.

As he finally got to his club, he let out a sigh of relief as he walked inside, looking around.

“Good, good. Everything looks to be in place.” He says, walking up to his stage and taking a seat at the turntables. He still had time, so he just decided to sit and relax for a little to adjust to the new seat. He’d be using it a lot in the future, after all, best to make sure it’s comfortable fast. (Which luckily, it very much was)

He let himself sink into the seat, enjoying the soft texture of it. He almost felt like he could fall asleep right there. Everything was perfect, everything was in place and set up, he had a comfortable seat to sit in for the performance, and he felt confident that this would be the best performance of his whole life.

But his phone suddenly ringing snapped him out of his relaxed state. Sighing, he pulled it out, looking at the name of the caller. He felt a small bit of dread overtake him seeing it was his older brother, Uranus, attempting to call him. His hand was shaking as he denied the call, he regretted it, but it was for the best. Briefly, he did consider calling them back, but sighed, shaking his head.

“...I can’t. I need to stay focused, and I can’t risk you calling me in the middle of the performance either…” He did feel bad about what he was going to do, but he felt that it was truly for the best. He needed to move on, and constantly being called by his brother wasn’t going to help him with it. “...One day, brother. I’ll talk to you again one day, promise...”

_ ‘Block Uranus?’ _

_ >’Yes’ _

“But that day is just not today...”

A bit later, Nova watched as people started to make their way inside the club. His heart was racing with nervousness, there were so many people there to see him perform. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. This was it, this was his big first performance to all of his fans live.

As the lights dimmed, he watched as small lights of stars began to shine, hearing the murmuring amongst each other. He chuckled a little to himself, he knew he could do this. He was going to absolutely amaze the audience with this performance.

“Good evening, my marvelous fans. I am truly overjoyed to see so many of you here to enjoy the marvelous galactic blessing that is my music.”

Soon, a light shone upon where he was, watching as the crowd looked in awe as the screens behind him lit up bright, showing a beautiful view of the solar system, the stars glimmering bright as the planets revolved around the sun on the screen.

“Now, let us all join together, and dance away our worries in the infinite, beautiful expanse of the universe!”


	8. Post-Performance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! It’s 3 in the morning but here’s the next chapter! I still got the energy to carry on and I wanna get to the end while I have that drive of creativity remaining!

The performance went beautifully, the crowd was cheering and chanting his name by the end as the lights began to come back on. His orb gleamed bright as he looked out among the crowd, slipping off his headphones.

“Th-That went amazing…” He muttered to himself. As the crowd soon started to disperse, Nova noticed a few of the people staying behind and grouping around him.

“Nova, your performance was amazing!”

“Yeah, that was really something!”   
“You’re even cooler to see performing in person!

“That was such an amazing show! I can’t wait to see more in the future!”

“N-Now, now. One at a time please, I can’t concentrate if you’re all trying to talk to me at once.” Nova says, motioning for the group to step back a little.

“Mr. Nova sir! Y-Your performance was so cool! I’m so honored to meet you in person, you have such a talent with music!”

“Ah, thank you, my fine sir. I’m glad that you enjoy music so much, I am honored to grace you with my presence.” Nova says, chuckling.

“I’ve been listening to all of your music, Nova! It sounds even better in person, and I loved the show, such a spectacle to see!”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, I was making sure to keep my performance quite visually appealing. My fans only deserve the best, after all!” All of these people surrounding him, all the praise for his talents, it was everything he had dreamed of wanting. It filled with joy, the stars in his orb glimmering as it shone bright with joy. Amongst the small crowd of fans eventually a woman amongst them approached Nova.

“Ah, Mr. Nova, sir, quite a pleasure to meet you in person. My name is Barbra, I’m a music journalist for the city. I must say, your performance was truly out of this world, no pun intended. I was wondering if perhaps I could contact you for an interview sometime in the future. Being a new artist for NSR and having such a marvelous first performance, I think you have great potential, and I know the people of Vinyl would love to hear more about what’s brought you on this path of music!” She says, looking up at Nova with a warm, friendly smile.

“An interview, hm? Why, of course I could! Perhaps we could meet up this weekend to do so?” Nova offers, adjusting his hoodie slightly.

“Yes, this weekend will do nicely. We can meet over in the Natura district this Saturday. I’ll see you there. Have a nice evening, Nova, I’ll be on my way now.” Barbra says, giving a small wave goodbye before walking off.

Eventually, once the crowd of fans disperces after a good hour, Nova makes his way out of his club, noticing Neon waiting for him outside.

“Ah, Neon! It’s nice to see you.” Nova says, walking up to him.

“Nova! I saw your performance, it was fantastic! It was a hit for sure!” Neon says.

“Ah, thank you, Neon. It means a lot hearing that from you.” Nova says.

“Oh, also, I was meaning to ask. You offered to help out with my work on 1010 last we talked, and I was wondering if you could possibly help me out if you’re free tomorrow?” Neon asks. “I’m giving them their design update and I was wondering if you could help with the upgrading them. After all, an extra set of hands to help will allow me to complete the work faster!”

“Why, of course I can! Just give me a call when you want me to come over tomorrow!” Nova says.

“Of course, thanks a bunch Nova, I’ll see you then!” Neon says, waving goodbye before walking off. Nova waves back, chuckling a little.

“Yeah, I’ll see you.” He says. For a minute, he just stood there, hands in his pockets, before sighing. “My schedule is filling fast already, huh.” He turns and starts walking. “Well, I should get some rest, then. I want to be in my best condition for the coming days.”


	9. 1010's Upgrade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG BUT I'M BACK
> 
> So here, finally the next chapter of A Star is Formed, where 1010 finally becomes their in-game versions
> 
> Also note: I just decided that they're able to eat, don't ask me abt it cause I still haven't fully thought it out.

The afternoon of the next day, Nova stood in front of the large mansion in the Metro District. He looked down at his phone, reading over Neon’s message again.

‘Nova, you still good to come over to help out? We’ll be at  Baracca Mansion . Thanks again ;)’

Looking back up, he knocked on the door, patiently waiting for an answer. It only took a few seconds before a white haired robot opened the door, looking up at him.

“Nova?” They asked. Nova looked at the robot, trying to figure out who it was, but the glowing white details made him realize it was a now upgraded 1010 bot.

“...10-1, correct?”

“It’s Rin, I go by Rin now. Commander J let us choose what we wanted to be called now.” He says, moving to the side and motioning for Nova to come in. “Last room in the hall on the right, can’t miss it.”

Nova walks inside, looking over at Rin. “Thank you Rin.” Nova says, before heading down the hall and pausing at the door of the room, already hearing Neon’s voice on the other side.

“I’m just saying, you’ve been taking every chance you get to talk and spend time with him, really seems like you could like him.”

“We’re friends, 10-2. That’s all. We have alike interests and his fellow knowledge of robotics and mechanics can help me get this work done faster, all right? We’ve only known each other for a little while anyways, I don’t know him that well enough to gain a romantic interest in him. It’s plausible I could have an interest in him in the future, but as of right now, no, I’d prefer to get to know him better first before I’d consider it.”

Nova sighs a little, clearly knowing that it was about him. Neon was right, though. Neither of them knew each other well enough to come to the conclusion if they had a romantic interest in the other as of now. He knocks on the door gently.

“Neon, I’m here. May I come in?” He asks.

“Oh yes, come in, your help would be appreciated! Thank you so much for coming!” He hears Neon say, before the door opens.

Nova walked into what looked like a large bedroom, seeing Neon at the side of one of the beds there, hard at work on 10-2, a blue colored bot. The three other bots were all in their own beds, patiently waiting for their turn to be upgraded, noticing 10-4, a red colored one, tapping his foot on the floor impatiently, his arms crossed and sighing before noticing Nova.

“Finally. I won’t have to wait forever to get this over with.” 10-4 says.

“10-4!” Neon turns to them. “Patience, soldier. I will get to you in a little.” Neon turns to Nova. “Nova, if you could, could you possibly start work on 10-3. They’re the green colored robot, their blueprints should be on their bed.” He says, pointing at 10-3, who sat at the edge of the bed calmly, swinging his legs and looking down at the floor quietly. Nova nods, and walks over to them, 10-3 looking up as he hears Nova’s approaching footsteps.

“Ah, hello, 10-3.” Nova says.

“H-Hello, Mr. Nova.” 10-3 says, handing Nova the blueprints he had been holding. “Here you go, Commander J let us make our new designs ourselves!” 10-3 smiles as Nova looks over the blueprints.

“I see,” Nova says, chuckling. He looks back up at 10-3. “Well, it looks very nice, 10-3. I’ll make sure you look just like you want to, I promise.”

“Thank you, Mr. Nova.” 10-3 says.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just try to stay still while I work, all right?” Nova says. 10-3 nods in response, his green light glowing brighter with his joy.

Nova had quickly gone to work on upgrading the bot, who tried his best to stay still, but couldn’t help but to look over on occasion while Nova worked. After a process that took roughly 2 hours, Nova backed away a little, admiring him completed work.

“There you go 10-3, all finished! You look absolutely stunning, surely the fans will love you.” Nova says, watching 10-3 stand up and starting to take in the details of his new design, smiling widely as he admired his appearance in a nearby mirror before turning to Nova.

“I love it!” 10-3 says excitedly, quickly embracing Nova in a tight hug. “Thank you so much Nova, it’s perfect!”

“You’re welcome, 10-3.” Nova says, returning the hug. After a few seconds, the two pull away.

“Oh, yeah, I was thinking about it while you were working on my upgrade, and I’ve decided I want to go by Eloni now!” He says.

“All right then, Eloni. That’s a very nice name.” Nova says, gently patting him on the shoulder.

“An excellent choice of name, Eloni.” Neon says, looking over from working on 10-4. “Rin and Purl-hew went out to wait in the living room, if you’d like to join them.”

“Sure thing, Commander!” Eloni says, saluting. Before walking out, he gives Nova another quick hug. “Thanks a bunch, Mr. Nova.”

“It was nothing Eloni. I’m glad you like it.” Nova says. With that, Eloni leaves the room. Nova looks over at Neon. “...Purl-hew?”

“10-2. That’s what he chose to go by.” Neon says. Nova nods, understanding.

“Ah, I see. Well, I’m assuming you’d like for me to work on 10-5 next?”

“Haym.” 10-5 says suddenly, lying on his bed, having been reading a book while he was waiting. “I’m going by Haym.”   
  
“Ah, Haym. My apologies.” Nova says. “I’m assuming you’d like for me to work on Haym while you finish up 10-4?” Nova asks. Neon looks over at him and nods.

“Yes please. Again, thank you for the help.” Neon says.

“No problem.” Nova says, walking over to Haym. Quickly, he places down his book, sitting up and handing Nova the blueprints as soon as he came over.

“There ya’ go, Novs.” Haym says. “Shouldn’t be too hard for you to do.”

Nova looks over the blueprints, nodding. “All right then, I should be able to do this rather quickly.” Nova says.

“Thanks, Novs. I’m just not a fan of sitting still for so long. Didn’t really have any ideas either, so I just kinda made something quick.” Haym says.

“Got it. Well, I’ll try to make it quick for you.” Nova says.

It only took about an hour to finish his work on Haym, after working on Eloni he understood better how to do the work more effectively, allowing him to finish much quicker this time. “There you go Haym!” He says. Haym stands up, taking a quick glance into the mirror to look over his new design, smirking.

“I like it, thanks Novs.” Haym says, opting to simply give Nova a pat on the back before walking out.

“10-4, complete!” Nova looks over as Neon stands up, admiring his finished work as 10-4 stands up.

“Took long enough.” 10-4 mutters, looking over his new appearance. “Worth it though, I look cool. Good job, Commander.”

“It was nothing, my boy! You look truly incredible!”

“Thanks.” 10-4 says. “Oh yeah, and I decided to go by Zimelu.”

“Understood, Zimelu! I assume you’ll be joining the other four?” Neon asks.

“Yeah. Thanks again, commander.” Zimelu says before walking out. Neon walks over to Nova and hugs him tightly.

“Thank you so much for the help today, Nova, it really means a lot!” Neon says. “I hope it wasn’t too much of a bother for you to come over.”

“No, no, not at all, Neon! It was nothing, really. I’m always welcome to helping you out if you ever need it!” Nova says, chuckling and returning Neon’s hug.

“Thank you Nova, that means a lot, really.” Neon says. The two pull away, Neon walking over to the door. “Well, uh...it is actually kinda close to lunch time, perhaps you might want to stay and eat before you go?” He offers. “Think of it as my way of saying thank you for helping me today.”

“Oh, that is very nice of you Neon. I believe I could stay for lunch.” Nova says.

“That’s great! I promise I’ll make you something unbelievably delicious to show you my gratitude!” Neon says, his screen brightening to a bit to show he was happy. “You can wait in the living room with the boys for now, I’ll call you and them over when it’s ready!”   
  
“All right, Neon.” Nova says. “Thank you again for this.”   
  
“It’s nothing, really.” Neon says, the two exiting the room.

A few minutes later, 1010 is all seated around Nova, all 5 having been asking him questions.

“Where’d you come from Nova? We’ve never seen you in our database of residents before until we saw you at the audition.” Rin asks, looking up at Nova curiously.

“Ah, I came from a small town not too far away from here. A quaint, quiet city called New Metro. A very peaceful place, although with not as big a focus on music as it is here.”

“Oh, so you’d come to pursue a career in music in a more music focused city, I’d assume?” Rin says.

“I did. And I’ll admit, it’s been a much better experience already compared to my last occupation, I’m glad I came here.”

“So, what’d you do before music? If you’re ok with telling us, of course.” Purl-Hew asks.

“Ah, I was professor at a university, I taught astronomy and astrophysics, but none of my students ever seemed interested. It really killed my motivation and I decided to quit because it took a serious toll on my mental health with how my students treated me so rudely, almost as if I was nothing to them. Music was something I always loved, and eventually I realized that I could combine my interests of music and the interstellar, and that is what brought me to where I am now.”

“Woah, I’m assuming that you’ve always had an interest in space?” Zimelu cuts in.

“I’ve been interested in it since a young age. I was taken to a planetarium when I was a child, and the scene of the infinite expenses of space I saw that day was what truly sparked my love of the interstellar.”

“Is that when you also started wearing your helmet?” Eloni suddenly speaks up. Nova looks at him, confused.

“...Helmet?” Nova asks.

“Yeah, you know, the glass over your head. That’s a helmet, isn’t it?” Eloni asks.

“No, actually. It’s just my head. My head is formed from the contained power and energy of a black hole itself. This glass is the only reason I don’t destroy everything I get close to, but it does make the area around me very cold, as my head’s composition causes it to take in the heat around me.”

“Oh...that’s actually really cool! I bet it’s really nice during the summer!” Eloni says, smiling.

“Yeah, but terrible in the winter.” Zimelu adds.

“Indeed, it is. It helps me to stay cool during the summer but during the colder seasons I have to wear a lot of layers to keep myself warm. It’s a blessing and a curse, being born like this.” Nova says. In the back of his head, he felt a small twinge of guilt, thinking about how worried his family probably is, having not heard from him in a long while. It looked like Eloni was about to ask another question, until they heard Neon calling for them from another room.

“Nova, 1010, lunch is ready!”

1010 all stand up, rushing out of the room and towards the dining room. Nova stands up and follows them, seeing a large, lavish meal set up at the dining room table, Neon waiting for them with a cheerful glow coming from his screen.

“Oh, wow, Neon, this is...quite incredible. This all looks absolutely scrumptious, you must truly have quite the culinary talent along with your knowledge of robotics.” Nova says.

“Oh, thank you Nova! Yes, I’ve had some experience with cooking before, have a seat!” Neon says, taking a seat at the table.

The group all follow suit and take a seat at the table as well, soon helping themselves to the meal set out for them.

“Wow, this is great, commander!”

“I’ve never tasted something so good before!”

“I didn’t know you were such a good cook, commander, this is incredible!”

“Yeah! This is delicious!”

“Incredible cooking, commander J! Truly the best meal I’ve ever had!”

1010 all look at Neon with wide smiles, the lights on their cheeks glowing bright.

“Indeed, Neon. This meal is quite incredibly made, you truly do have a knack for cooking!”

“Thank you Nova, it means a lot to hear you say that!” Neon says, a light ping coming from his radar as he chuckled.

Through the rest of lunch the group of 7 all talked amongst each other, sharing tales from the past, hopes of the future, and mostly just general lighthearted banter. As they all finished their meals and the table was cleared, Nova couldn’t help but glance at the clock, and realize that it was starting to get late.

“I’m sorry to cut my time here short, but I must get back home, I have a lot on my schedule for today, and I want to make sure I get everything done on time.” Nova says.

“Ah, all right then!” Neon says, walking up to Nova and giving him a quick hug. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me today, it means the world to me.

“No problem at all, Neon.” Nova says, a small glow emanating from his orb as a few stars glimmered from his joy. “Thank you again for the meal, it was truly fantastic.”

“No problem, Nova! It was a pleasure to have you here!” Neon says, waving goodbye as Nova made his way to the door. Nova paused to return a wave goodbye, before leaving, making his way back to his Cast Tech home.


	10. The interview

**New NSRtists of Vinyl City**

**Issue 2**

**A New Shining Star: DJ Subatomic Supernova!**

Nova had arrived at Natura at the requested time, meeting Barbra in the park for the interview.

“Ah, DJ Subatomic Supernova, glad you could make it!” Barbra says, smiling as Nova sat across from her.

“Please, Barbra, you can call me Nova for short. It’s much less of a mouthful” Nova says with a chuckle.

“All right, Nova.”

**Recently, a few days after his performance, DJ Subatomic Supernova, or Nova for short, and I met up in Natura’s park for an interview with the new NSRtist.**

“All, right, to start off our interview…”

_ Barbra: “Nova, what inspired you to pursue this career of music?” _

_ Nova: “Ah, you see, I had recently quit a rather stressful and draining job as a college professor for astrophysics and astronomy. At home, I had always had a hobby for making music on the side. In reality, I would’ve never decided this career if it wasn’t for my…” _

**He went silent momentarily, upset even, but I decided not to push farther on it out of respect. I didn’t want to delve into anything too personal for him.**

Nova suddenly trailed off, remembering who had really sparked this all. His brother...god, now he felt even worse about blocking him the few days prior.

“...Is everything all right, Nova?” Barbra asks, snapping out of his regretful thoughts.

“Ah, y-yes, it is. As I was saying…”

_ Nova: “If it hadn’t been for my older brother, I would’ve never realized that I wanted to pursue a career in music!” _

“I see, quite interesting.” Barbra says, taking note of his response on a notebook beside her.

_ Barbra: “On the topic of before your arrival in the city, where did you live previously before earning your position at NSR?” _

_ Nova: “I lived in a small town by the name of New Metronome City, of course, for brevity sake we call it just New Metro. I lived there all my life before coming here. It holds many...bittersweet memories, I’d prefer not to talk too much about it.” _

“Understood, why don’t we ask a bit more about your plans for the future, then? I do want to make sure you’re comfortable throughout the interview. I’d understand if talking about the past makes you uncomfortable.”

“Yes, I’d prefer not to dwell too much on the topic of my earlier life, thank you.”

“Noted.”

_ Barbra: “So, what are your plans for the coming future? Being a new NSRtist and resident of Vinyl, your popularity already seems to be absolutely booming!” _

_ Nova: “I plan to hold many more spectacular concerts for all my adoring fans. One day, I wish for my compositions to reach even the stars above, for all those in our beautiful universe to hear the galactic blessings of my music. Truly, I wish to be remembered even centuries after I leave this mortal realm. I feel like this career will help me leave a lasting mark on the world I have longed to achieve ever since I was a young elementary school boy.” _

_ Barbra: “Quite the inspiring ambition, Nova! Actually, on the topic of your music, there has been some minor debate recently over one minor thing, and I thought maybe you could help settle the argument while I have you here. For your music, its genre is meant to be…?” _

_ Nova: “A combination of both EDM and a genre by the name of ‘Disco Stellarum’. My music is meant to fill you with energy to dance the night away, while also giving the feeling that you are floating among the vast, beautiful expenses of space.” _

_ Barbra: “Oh? I’ve never heard of Disco Stellarum before, but after hearing your compositions, I think I’ll look for more music of the genre. To close off the interview, I’d like to ask another question fans have been wondering about. There’s been a lot of divide in your fans asking about the glass covering of your head. Some are saying it’s a helmet while others believe it’s something else. If you’re comfortable with telling, what is it for? Is it cosmetic or is it for a reason?” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Nova: “Well, Barbra, you see, it’s not a helmet. I come from a race of celestial powered beings, and I have the energy and power of a black hole for my head. The glass is for protection, to keep things from being destroyed around me. It also means I primarily am like a heat sink, it takes in the heat around me. If the glass were to ever break, the consequences could be quite dangerous.” _

“Interesting, your lineage must be full of powerful beings!” Barbra says, smiling.

“There’s a few, though I’ve never met most of my lineage. A lot are working out in the galaxy.” Nova says.

“That should be enough for the interview.” Barbra says, grabbing her notebook and placing it in her bag before getting up from the table. “Well, thank you so much for your time today, Nova.”

“No problem, Barbra.” Nova says, standing up. “I should be getting home though, I should be preparing for my next concert.”

“All right then, have a nice day, Nova.”   
  
“You as well, Barbra.” With that, the two went their separate ways.

Nova stared at the ground as he walked, but perked up as he felt someone brush past him. Turning to see who it had been, his heart sank.

To his shock, it was his own brother, Uranus, who looked to be too focused on his tablet at the moment to even notice who he’d passed, taking a seat at a nearby bench and looking to be typing something out as he tapped his foot with a quick pace, which Nova knew meant that he was worried or agitated. He couldn’t help but suspect, was it because of him? He wanted to go up and say something to his older brother, but he feared them being angry at him for not talking to him since the move. He stood there for a good few minutes, debating on what to do.

Eventually, with great hesitation, Nova decided it would be better to just leave and go home. After all, with all he’d done the last they saw each other, who’s to say his brother would even be happy to see him?

When Uranus finally looked up from their tablet, all they saw was a person in a blue coat walking off, not even realizing who it really was as they left the park.


	11. A Nostalgic Sense of Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I will warn you, this one is kinda emotional and intense, so maybe skip this chapter if you're uncomfortable at any moment, I'll understand! I hope you still enjoy for those who are comfortable to read the chapter.  
> Also, it does get into more of Nova's bad childhood experiences, I might start getting into more of his past in later chapters.  
> And relating to Ura, they will talk again, just not in this fic.  
> Also I might be completing this fic soon, as my ideas are running low and I really wanna make the sequel soon, but so far my remaining chapter ideas are  
> 1\. Mr. Natura's passing/Yinu's addition to NSR  
> 2\. Nova spending time with other artists  
> 3\. The conclusion  
> But, if you'd like to give me any other ideas I'm willing to take them!

Nova had been an artist at NSR for a good few years now. Nova tiredly sat in his seat, having not gotten much sleep the night prior to this meeting. In the auditions a few months prior, two new artists had joined NSR, the group of Remi, Tila, Dodo, and Sofa, who together, created the digital idol of Sayu, a peppy, pink mermaid who was the new face of the Akusaka district. Nova found the group to be...bearable, but at times they seemed to just easily get on his nerves. There were many incidents of them contacting him on his computer in the middle of composing music, completely pulling him out of his concentrated state and setting him back hours on work, which is actually why he had gone with little sleep the night prior. But, of course, he couldn’t put the blame completely on them. They were still relatively new, they just needed some more time to learn and adjust around the others’ schedules if the 4 wanted to talk with them every so often.

The other artist who had joined was Eve. Eve was a bit...hard to understand in her art form sometimes, but he still attempted to try and understand. He found her to be a bit too...dramatic at times. He didn’t know a lot about her, they hadn’t seen each other often, but he swore...he felt he remembered her from somewhere...

With his concentration on a steep low, the voices around him were mostly a muffled blur. How he just longed to return home and drift off to sleep, letting his imagination take over and bring him into a wonderful land of dreams…

“Nova?”   
  
He jolted upright, his tiredness fading for a split moment as Tatiana addressed him, having noticed his fatigued condition.

“M-My apologies, Ms. Qwartz.” Nova said, rubbing his eyes a little to try and wake up. “I had a late night, I didn’t get much sleep…”

“While I understand your fatigue, Nova, I must ask you to please stay focused, this is a rather important situation. Now, as I was trying to ask of you earlier, we’ve decided to send out a satellite in a few years time, and I wanted to ask for your assistance in the preparation and future launch of the satellite. Schedule permitting, of course.”   
  
Nova almost instantly lit up, his tiredness slipping away completely at the mention of it.

“Oh yes, of course I can help with it! It would be an absolute pleasure! Of course, someone with such an advanced intellect of the interstellar as I am, it would be highly beneficial to the project as a whole!” Nova says. Tatiana sighs a little, while Nova had been rather humble and kind at the start, years of growing in popularity changed him, turning him much more self centered and arrogant.

“A simple yes or no would suffice, Nova. I think we’d rather not hear you ramble on about your vast grasp of knowledge yet again through yet another meeting.” Eve suddenly spoke up, Nova looking at her, irritated.

“Well, miss Eve, I’d say-”

“Nova, Eve, both of you, stop.” Tatiana says. “I will not have an argument break out over something so miniscule here.”

The two stared at each other bitterly in silence, before sighing.

“Yes, Tatiana.” The two say.

The rest of the meeting remained incident free. Afterwards, Nova and Neon headed to the mansion together, as they were both assisting with the satellite's creation. While Neon was hard at work setting up the mainframe and coding of the satellite, Nova was sketching out a general blueprint for the satellite, still seething with anger over Eve’s words from earlier.

Even he didn’t understand why it got to him, but something about it just struck his nerves, and he couldn’t shake off the feeling of aggravation.

“I can’t believe that woman. She doesn’t understand the amount of intellect it requires to do something like this. She’s only barely a few years out of college, while I have spent YEARS in countless universities and years of teaching, I should be allowed to have pride in my accomplishments in the pursuit of knowledge, what could she ever know about astronomy and astrophysics? Nothing, that’s what! Utterly below me in the pool of knowledge about these things, yet she dares to shut me down so fast. I don’t have a care if she is above me in rankings, she has no right to shut me down like that!”

Neon paused, looking over at Nova, seeing him starting to grow irritated, a red tint showing on his orb as he raved on angrily.

“...Nova?” Neon says, placing a hand lightly on Nova’s shoulder. “N-Nova, it’s ok-”

Neon jumped as Nova suddenly slammed a fist onto the table in anger turning to him.

“NO IT ISN’T!” Nova screams, starting to shake with fury. “For years and years of my life I have been shut down by everyone around me for every. Little. Thing! Nobody would ever listen to me, all they ever did was just laugh and judge me for every action I did, and THAT felt like just the same! I came here to find people who’d actually appreciate what I had to say and listen to me, but all it seems like is people only care for what I make and not myself! It’s like if I show any mind of break I’m judged or ridiculed! This is really the first time I’ve ever felt this confident and nice about myself, just to be shot down like that! I came here to feel accepted,  **_NOT LIKE I’VE GOTTEN ANOTHER FUCKING METAL BAT TO THE HEAD AGAIN JUST BECAUSE OF MY EXISTENCE!_ ** ”

He looks up at Neon, noticing his concerned look.

“...I’m sorry. This is stupid…” He sighs, pulling his hood over his head, holding it down to keep him from having to look at Neon’s expression. God, he just felt worse. Neon didn’t deserve to hear all this, especially over something so small. “...I...I just shouldn’t have said anything...I-I’m really sorry for lashing out like that...it just…” He growled angrily, feeling his emotions getting the better of him, unable to even form a sentence to apologize to Neon. “God, this is all so stupid...I-I’m such an idiot for letting it get to me…” At this point he’d quickly shifted from anger to sadness, the same thing repeating in his mind…

“...I-I’m so damn stupid...l-letting my emotions take over me like this...god I’m just...I’m so stupid,  _ stupid _ ,  **_stupid_ ** !…”

Nova had turned into a shaky, muttering mess, almost like the shell of who he tried to be had been broken into, exposing the true, sensitive and soft side he had been before.

It wasn’t the first time this had happened, it was a common occurrence in his elementary days, but this was really the first time he felt he didn’t have someone he could go to comfort for.

_ He remembered those days of his childhood, when he’d curled up in his bed, hugging his plush toys for comfort as he sobbed over how harshly the children treated him. He felt alone, a mere speck in the infinite expanse of the universe, absolutely meaningless and nothing in the eyes of others. _

_ “Nova...” He looked up to see his mother sitting next to him, looking very concerned. “What’s wrong, starshine?” _

_ “...I-I d-d-don’t...w-w-wanna t-talk ab-bout it…” Nova hiccuped. _ _   
_ _   
_ __ “Oh, dear…” Her voice was soothing and calm, lightly placing her hand on his shoulder. “It’s ok, son. No matter what happened, I’m here for you dear.”

_ And always, she would gently hold him close, her hands placed where his cheeks would be on his orb, and would calmly tell him everything would be ok. _

_ Little Nova loved the gesture, the comfort from his mother and her calm voice reassuring him that everything would be all right and how much she loved him...it meant everything to him, his little reminder of the love he had at home in the cold, harsh outside world. _

“...Nova...” Reality returned to him as he felt Neon gently grab his hands, moving them off of his hood he was still pulling over himself. He was still shaking, having been muttering over and over on how stupid he thought he was for all this, but Neon’s action brought his mutterings to a stop.

“...Hey, Nova...look at me.” Neon’s voice sounded drastically different from his usual, military and commanding like voice. It was calm, quiet and gentle, not wanting to overwhelm Nova more if he’d raised his voice at him. Nova hesitated, but then looked up at Neon, his orb dull and almost dark as a void, with a small, visible crack in the glass. “Nova, listen. It’s going to be ok. I’m right here for you. You don’t need to say anything, if all you need is me to be here to vent, I’ll always be there to help you if you feel like this.”

Neon let go of Nova’s hands and raised his a small bit, waiting for Nova to nod that it was ok, before Neon gently placed his hands on the cheeks of his orb. “You’re not stupid, nor an idiot for this. I understand why something like that could get you so harshly. Sometimes, little things just hit us in a sensitive spot. Nova, you are a great and intelligent person, and I’m glad to be your friend, and I’ll always, always be there for you if you have a rough time, ok? I really do care about you, Nova.”

Neon noticed Nova’s sudden change in reaction. At first, it was shock, but Neon could feel him start shaking even more, and suddenly, Nova’s hands grabbed his shoulders gently as Nova broke into tears.

“...N-Neon…” Nova choked out between his sobs. “Th...Thank you…s-so much...”

“Anything for you, friend. Believe me, I’ve had a rough past too, and there are days where I can feel terrible about myself as well. You’re not alone in feeling like this, remember that. There’s always someone who’ll be there for you.” Neon says.

After a few minutes, Nova finally started to calm down, Neon taking a small step back as Nova stood up, sniffling and wiping away a few remaining tears.

“I...th-thank you, Neon. I...I really needed that…” He said, his voice slightly hoarse from all the yelling and sobbing.

“It’s no problem Nova, really. Sometimes emotions just love fucking with us over the littlest things.” Neon says, chuckling. “...You...really got teary at the end there, it actually caught me a tiny bit off guard.”

“...Well, you see…” Nova sighed a little. “The way you placed your hands on my orb...a-and the way you spoke to me…” He looked away a bit, muttering ‘God this is so awkward to say’ under his breath. “...My mother would do something like that when I was upset as a kid. Th-The gesture just...really gets to me...it reminded me of my home and family…I’m really, really sorry about that.”

“No, no, it’s ok, I understand. It’s fine, Nova, really.” Neon says, placing a hand on Nova’s shoulder. “You don’t need to apologize.”

Nova nods a little. “Ok...I...I think I might...head home, for now...I’m just...really drained from all that...maybe we could reschedule this to tomorrow, perhaps?” He asks, rubbing his head a little.

“Of course we can. Make sure to take care of yourself, ok? Get some rest for now, we can continue tomorrow when you’re feeling better, we have the time to do so.” Neon says. Nova nods, giving Neon a hug and thanking him once again before taking his stuff and heading back home.

Back at home, Nova lied in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He still couldn’t believe he let that all happen, usually he’s so good at controlling his emotions.

But just, something about the whole incident...he felt...mixed. He felt so upset at himself for being so out of control with his emotions, but at the same time...the experience had made him feel a strange sense of...comfort in the whole thing.

“...I don’t get it…” He muttered. “Usually I understand things like this, but for some reason...I...I don’t get it at all...I can’t...I can’t understand it. Why can’t I understand this?” His mind was racing, he was tapping his hand on the mattress just trying to comprehend his thoughts. He sighed, shaking his head.

“I-I should just get some rest. I’ll...probably understand this better in the morning.”


	12. Reconnection of Kin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’all made me cave so here  
> He calls his brother after he has a talk with Mama  
> Also I might’ve mentioned it before but Uranus is non-verbal, though he’s been seeing a speech therapist to work on speaking more.

It was late in the night a few weeks later, Nova was sitting in the Natura district’s park, looking down at his phone, debating on whether to finally swallow his fears and talk with his brother again. His hands were shaking, his mind racing with all the ways it could end terribly. After a bit, he sighed, putting his phone back into his pocket, and just sitting there, his face buried in his hands.

“God, I can’t do it...I...I can’t bare to hear how disappointed he’ll be…” He mutters.

“Nova? What are you doing out so late here?” Nova jumped a bit, turning back to see Mrs. Natura, who ran the Natura district with her family.

“O-Oh, Mrs. Natura, m-my apologies.”

“No need for formalities, Nova, call me Willow.”

“Ah, Willow. My apologies for being out so late. What brings you here?”

“Well, I saw you out here, it looked like you had something on your mind. My husband and I also very much loved to come out here together, I still come in his memory.”

“I understand. My deepest sympathies for your loss, Willow. I hope it hasn’t been too rough on you or your daughter.”

“Ah, little Yinu is still taking the loss hard, it’s been a hard time for her, but I’ve tried to stay by her side through her grieving. Of course, the loss has still been tough on me as well, I never expected to lose him so suddenly, but I know he would not want me to dwell too much on his passing and let it weigh me down. It’s hard, but I know both Yinu and I will get better with time and each other for comfort.”

“I see, don’t forget that I and the other artists will also be here for you and Yinu if either of you need anyone to talk with about this. We’ll always listen and be there to help you both.”   
  


“Thank you, Nova. That truly means a lot.” Mrs. Natura smiles, gently patting Nova’s shoulder. “But, I must ask, what brings you here tonight, Nova? You seem a bit conflicted.”

“I just...came out here to clear my mind to try and make an important decision…”

“Oh, I see. If you’re ok with telling me, what’s the issue? Maybe someone else’s input could help you with making the decision?” Mrs. Natura says, sitting next to him as Nova nodded that she could.

“...It’s my family. I...I haven’t talked to them since I left town and I cut contact with one of my closest siblings...I...I want to talk with them again but every time I try I get so overwhelmed with the thought of how badly it could be with me ignoring them for years. I don’t know if I could take hearing them so upset…o-or what if they’re mad at me? I...I’m just scared how they’ll react.”

Mrs. Natura nods, listening intently to Nova’s worries. “Yes, I understand where your worry is coming from. I know it can be heart wrenching to hear your family members upset, and it can really hurt to hear your family sound so mad at you for not letting them know anything for so long. But Nova, know that they’d only react that way because they care about you, they’d been worried because they hadn’t heard from you in so long, they won’t stay mad or upset at you, I promise. They love and care about you, they could never stay feeling that way at you.” She gently places a hand on his shoulder. “And if you’re asking me, I’d say that it’s better now than later. No matter how long our lives are, you never know when you may lose the ones close to you. So I say, if they make you happy and comfortable to talk with and be around, spend as much time with your family as your life comfortably allows, you may never know when they’ll be gone.” She smiles warmly. “I know they’d be glad to hear from you.”

Nova took those words to heart. She was right, who knows when it may be too late, and that he may lose them and never be able to talk with them again if he waited. He nods a little, a small, content glow coming from his orb.

“Y-You’re right, Willow, thank you. I-I should call them again, regardless of how they react to it. Who knows when it could be too late to do so, it’s better now than later.” Nova says.

“It’s nothing Nova, really. You know we are all here to listen and help if you have a problem at all.” Mrs. Natura says. Nova nods a little, now taking note how late it was.

“...Ah, it looks like it might be getting late...before I go though, I feel like it’d be rude to just leave after you helping me out with all this, is there any way I can repay you for it, or is there perhaps anything troubling on your mind you’d like to talk with me about before I leave?” He offers.

“No, it’s completely fine, Nova. There’s no need to repay me, all that matters is that I could help you, that is payment enough.” Mrs. Natura stands up, looking at Nova with a smile. “It’s late, after all, I think it would be best for the both of us to get home and have some rest. I don’t want to leave Yinu alone too long either, I don’t want her waking up in the middle of the night and finding herself home alone.”

“All right then, good night, Willow.” Nova says, waving goodbye.

“Good night, Nova. Rest well.” Mrs. Natura says, waving back before the two take their leave to their respective homes in their districts.

Back at home, Nova sat by the edge of his bed, phone in hand. Having unblocked his older brother, Nova knew he wasn’t going to be able to sleep until he called them, even if it just went to voicemail, it would be nice to hear his brother’s voice again. With a deep breath, he dialed the number and nervously waited for an answer.

“...h-hello?” Nova felt like time stopped for a split second as the tired voice of his older brother came through the other side. His hands were shaking and his heart raced as he mustered up the courage to respond.

“H...Hey, Ura...i-it’s me…”

“...l-lil bro? I...wh-where have you been?” Nova could practically feel the worry in his brother’s voice.

“I-I’m sorry, I...l-life’s just been busy...I-”   
  
“No, no, I...it’s...it’s just n-nice to hear your voice again...god, I’ve missed you so much…”

“...I’ve...missed you too, brother. Just...I-I know you’re happy to hear from me and all but...please, don’t tell our family yet...I...I’m not ready to face them yet.”

“All right, I-I won’t tell them.” There was a short moment of silence between the two. “What have you been doing, Nova? I-I’ve been trying to call you for so long…”

“My job in town is rather busy, I haven’t had a lot of free time…” Nova says. “...I’m surprised you answered, actually...I-I know talking for this long can be uncomfortable for you, Uranus. But you seem to be talking a bit more now than back when I moved.”

“Yeah, I-I’ve started to work on talking more over the years, my speech therapist says I’ve been doing well so far...i-it can still get a little uncomfortable, but I’m trying not to push myself t-too much...”

“I see, I’m glad to hear you’re working on that. It’s nice to hear your voice, and it’s great to hear you’re getting more comfortable with speaking. I hope everything is well back home.”

“Yeah, it’s been nice over here. Mercury’s been winning a ton of track meets, she’s even thinking about running in a marathon soon. Venus has been working on making a ton of new clothes, sh-she even made me a sweater for one of my birthdays! Mars and Earth left recently for some new photo shoots, a-and I’ve been having a good time running the club over here, everyone loves my music!”

“That’s fantastic to hear! I’m so glad you’re all doing well.” Nova chuckles a little, glancing to the clock and noticing that at this point it was well past midnight. “I’m sorry for having to cut this short, brother, but I think we both really should get some rest.”

“I-It’s ok, lil’ bro. P-Please...call again soon, promise?”

Nova pondered for a moment, before nodding. “I will, I promise brother. Good night.”

“G-Good night, Pluto…”

That time, the name didn’t strike him in an infuriating way. It felt...strange, oddly comforting, almost. As he lied down, putting his phone away, he looked up at the ceiling. Memories of his younger days flooded back, how his older brother was always there for him. It brought a warm glow to his orb, remembering the happier days as he drifted off into slumber.


	13. I. Am. DJ Subatomic Supernova!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIIIIIVE
> 
> And now, I will begin work on the sequel. I tried my best to make sure this came out well, sorry if it seems rushed at all, it really isn’t, I’m just not the best at writing out long scenes I get bored easily. I do hope you enjoyed it, I’ll try my best to get out the first chapter of the sequel ASAP when I have the time.

This afternoon, the day of the next Light’s Up audition, Nova excitedly made his way to the building, memories flooding back to when in the past, he himself had walked into this very building as the long ignored and forgotten Pluto, and left as the reborn man he was now, DJ Subatomic Supernova, filled with a new vigor and confidence.

  
It was a few hours until the auditions would begin, but all the members of NSR were already there. As Nova walked in, he was soon greeted by the cheerful, young voice of Natura’s piano prodigy, Yinu.

“Mr. Nova, you made it!” Yinu excitedly ran up to the interstellar DJ, a large smile on her face. “We’ve been waiting for you to get here!”

Nova chuckled, gently patting the little girl’s head. “Afternoon, Yinu. I see you’re all sunny and full of energy today.” Nova turns to Tatiana. “My apologies for the late arrival, Tatiana, I overslept, I was up rather late the night prior, after all, the satellite is due to launch tonight, I wanted to make one last look over to make sure it was perfect for launch.”

“I see. At least you still arrived before the auditions began.” Tatiana says. “I do hope the satellite’s launch goes as planned, it cost us greatly to make it in the first place.”

“Yes, yes. I know, but I have a good feeling that the launch will go perfectly!” Nova says, chuckling.

After a bit of talking with the other artists, Nova noticed Neon, walking up to him.

“Afternoon, Neon.” Nova says. “I hope everything’s been well on your end.”

“Nova! It’s been fantastic on my end! 1010 has been great and the satellite preparations went like a dream! It should be due to launch tonight!”

“That’s great! Perhaps if time allows we could watch the launch together?” Nova asks.

“I would be pleased to! Hopefully our schedule allows it, it’s estimated to launch some time after your concert tonight.” Neon says, chuckling.

“Ah, understood. Well, I hope to see you then.” Nova says.

“As do I.”

The ringing of a bell from a clock caught Nova’s attention. Time seemed to have flown, as the auditions were going to begin in just a few minutes.

“Oh! Wow, th-that conversation was longer than I thought. We should get to our places on the podiums, then.” Nova said.

“Oh, I don’t go up there. Tatiana wished for the opinion of 1010 themselves, as they are technically the performers of the district.”

“I see, well then, I guess I’ll see you afterwards, Neon.” Nova says, taking a moment to adjust his hoodie before giving a small wave farewell, and making his way up to the podium with the others.

The auditions went late into the evening, with many different artists from near and far all with their own unique performances and talents, but, in the end, the audition ended up not bringing in anyone new. In fact, it had ended rather sourly, with a rock duo led by a rather foul mouthed guitarist. They certainly had some...choice words towards him and the others on their decisions to reject them, having to be forcefully removed by security at the end of it all.

As the building emptied again, Nova hopped off his podium with a sigh, rubbing his head as he thought how embarrassing that final display and outburst was. As he spotted Neon waiting by the rear exit with 1010 by his side, he walked up to them.

“Well, that was quite the audition today.” He says.

“I could hear it.” Neon says, shaking his head. “How does one expect to grow in popularity if they take criticism so negatively?”

“It was atrocious...hopefully they learn from this, at the least. Quite low of the lead to lash out so fouly.” Nova says. “But, anyways. Are we still good for meeting after my concert for the launch?”  
  


“Well, that’s all if you’re free to Nova.” Neon says, a light ping coming from his monitor. Behind him, 1010 all looked at each other and laughed to themselves, all thinking of the same thing, before quickly coming to attention as Neon turned to them. “Boys! We’re just going to watch the satellite launch, for heaven's sake! It’s not because we like each other like that!” 1010 nods in response, understanding. Neon sighs, and turns back to Nova. “Well, I don’t want to hold you for too long, your concert is soon after all. I’ll be waiting for you there afterwards. I hope the concert goes well!”

“Thank you Neon. I’ll be sure to be there.” Nova gives Neon a small pat on the shoulder before heading outside, making his way to Cast Tech for his concert.

As the crowd began to gather in the club, there was a moment of concern as the lights flickered, before shutting off completely. Nova grew concerned as well, after all, his turntables couldn’t work if the power had gone off, how was he going to perform for the crowd. But, after a few moments, the lights soon flickered back on.

“Ah, the reserve energy, good.” Nova muttered. “Hopefully the concert can help repower the city from this.”  
  
It was truly a logical choice for the reserve power to first go to the artists of NSR. With a digital idol, a robotic boy band, and a DJ in NSR, if power went out, it could cause a small drop in electricity generation, as they possibly wouldn’t be able to perform with the lack of power, which would mean it’d take even longer for the power to be restored to full. Blackouts were common, but they knew how to deal with them, and he hoped that soon the problem would be resolved if they had more artists. But for now, he had to work to get everything up and running outside again.

The concert went smoothly after the power came back, and soon enough, Nova could sit back as his music played for his adoring fans to dance to and enjoy. He sighed, relaxing in his seat, an ice pop in hand, before jumping up a little as his phone vibrated. He groaned in annoyance before picking up the phone, answering the call.

“Whatever this is, it better be important to interrupt me in the middle of a concert!” Nova says.

“Apologies, Nova, sir. It’s just that th-the satellite m-might be facing a few issues, a-and we’re having trouble with making sure everything is p-properly prepared for the launch...a-after all, a-a single miscalculation could-”  
  
“Could end in disaster. I assure you, Neon and I made sure everything was perfectly calibrated and in place for the launch, there shouldn’t be any issue here!”

“Y-Y-Yes sir, b-but I-I’ve noticed the satellite’s system can be e-easily hacked into, a-and th-that’s a concern. I-If someone were to break into it and de-orbit the thing...i-it could very well-”

“Impossible. The system is complicated, there’s no way a person can break into it with no knowledge of the satellite, there’s many protective measures we took, it won’t happen.”  
  
“B-But sir, p-please, if we just-”

Nova sighed, annoyed, sitting up as his temper rose. “(This person I swear to god-) Now, you listen to me…”

“Billions upon billions of organisms reside on this tiny planet. Each meticulously designed to fulfill their given purpose. Yet...” He growled a bit under his breath. “...you barely reach the cusp of mediocrity. _You can’t even handle a simple satellite launch procedure!_ ” His temper getting the best of him, he threw his phone to the side with an agitated yell.

‘ _...I just did that. Fuck I hope I didn’t break it I really don’t want to have to buy a new one._ ’

Shaking the thought away, he sat back, his chipper mood now soiled at the new issues.

“Such incompetence.” He said, shaking his head. “It’s not rocket science…”

‘ _No wait what are you saying it literally is. At least I’m not doing the math again, it was a struggle to do in the first place._ ’

“...I mean it is, but-” His angered ramblings were distracted as he noticed the ice pop in his hand had begun to melt, staining his gloves a sticky red and green.

‘ _God damn it are you serious?! Ugh...great, that glove’s all sticky now. I don’t like this...that feels so uncomfortable…why is everything going wrong at once?!_ ’

Slamming a fist on the arm of his seat, looking over at his club assistants. “Could someone fetch me some fresh Mr. Dodo Ice Pops, this one’s all melted!” He ordered, throwing the ruined popsicle to the side.

‘ _...I really just- God damn it stop throwing things today! That better get cleaned up tonight._ ’

He sighed, annoyed at the circumstances and now himself, before sitting back down, turning to the screen as to not show the audience his agitated mood. “...Great. What else could possibly go wrong today?”

“HI-YAH!” The door loudly slams open, causing Nova to jump and let out a yelp of surprise. Nova turned to face the person who had slammed open the door, noting it to be the same leader of the rock duo from the earlier audition. The leader rushes up to approach him, the drummer following behind her.

“What are you NSR people doing?! We’re not getting enough electricity and all you guys do is party!” The guitarist says, sounding agitated. Nova, meanwhile, was just completely unamused.

“Who are these two? Have they purchased the privilege pass to converse with me?” He says, far from the mood for dealing with another problem.

“Huh?! You don’t remember us? Bunk Bed Junction, that’s who we are!”  
  
‘ _Ah, yes, that band that threw a fit after we rejected you from the auditions and had an explicit outburst in reaction._ ’

“And we’re here to stop NSR from controlling everything.” The guitarist says, placing her hands on her hips confidently. “The people of Vinyl City deserve to know what rock is about!”

“Rock?” He paused, as if thinking. “Fascinating, hm, that is fascinating-your limited aspirations, your misplaced efforts…”

Frankly, they vaguely reminded him of his younger years. Ambitious, determined, and yet so unaware of the true harshness of the world around him.

“You remind me of...Pluto!” He chuckled a bit. Unaware to himself, after all these years, he had projected how he felt about his old self into a hatred of the dwarf planet itself. “Once thought to be a planet of the solar system, but no longer is.”  
  
“What? Pluto?!” The guitarist said angrily, before looking confused, turning back to the drummer with her. “Zuke, what he just said about us was bad, right?”

The drummer, apparently Zuke, spoke up after a second of thought. “Well, being a dwarf planet is not necessarily a bad-”

Though Nova instantly interrupted the drummer, in his head, time seemed to freeze at his comment.

‘ _Not a bad thing? N-NOT A BAD THING?! BEING PLUTO IS A TERRIBLE THING! YOU’RE TEASED, PUSHED AROUND, MADE FUN OF JUST FOR BEING IT! IT’S THE WORST THING ON THIS WHOLE DAMN UNIVERSE, AND YOU SAY IT’S ‘not a bad thing’?!...Ok, ok...calm down Nova...calm down, no need to get worked up. Just remind them of their place._ ’

“Tsk-tsk-tsk. Your intellect is strikingly shallow, as everyone else’s is. What I’m saying is that you Plutonians are no longer relevant.”

“Say what?!” The guitarist angrily glared at Nova, clearly ticked off by his statement. “So you think your music is so relevant lah issit?!”

Nova quickly grew agitated, rising from his seat. To even say that one like them was above him, it angered him. Years of work had been put in to get here, and he refused to let some amateur rock band talk of him like that!

“Don’t you know who I am? I. Am. DJ Subatomic Supernova!” Quickly, his turntables turned to be in front of him. Clearly he had to kick these two out by force, the gall of them to say they were above him. “My music will reach the furthest corners of the galaxy…”

“What have you done today, _SIMPLETONS_!”


End file.
